Use E-file to Make Tax Time Easier

There's good news this year when it comes to doing your taxes: Recent improvements and enhancements to electronically filing, or e-filing, make preparing your taxes much easier and eliminate the need to send long paper forms to the Internal Revenue Service.

Benefits of E-filing

In 2008, almost 90 million tax returns were submitted electronically. The e-file option is available online, either through packaged software or from your tax professional.

There are many benefits to using e-file:

Accuracy. E-filed returns are less prone to errors, because the software catches mistakes and reduces the likelihood of follow-up correspondence from the IRS.

Speed. Refunds can arrive within as little as 10 days of filing if you use direct deposit.

Security. The IRS states that electronic transmissions are secure, using dedicated lines with the latest encryption technology.